Male students are enrolling in the Primary Teachers’ Education course in smaller numbers than female candidates, according to a Kenya National Examinations Council report.
The council’s figures show that women have led the PTE examination turnout for five straight years, with the gap remaining wide in 2018. That year, 17,879 female candidates sat the exam compared with 11,651 males, a difference of 6,228.
The pattern was also clear in 2017, when 13,646 women took the test against 10,402 men. In 2016, 10,587 female candidates sat the examination, while 8,555 males did so. The report further shows 10,003 female candidates and 8,656 male candidates in 2015, and 9,410 females against 7,881 males in 2014.
The PTE examination is taken after a two-year certificate course, and the report says public colleges draw more trainees than private institutions.
Performance remains weak. Over the five-year period, only 105 candidates scored a distinction out of 109,079 who sat the examination.
In 2018, just 21 candidates earned a distinction from a total of 29,530, while 66 failed. Another 10,457 were set to resit the exam the following year, down from 12,438 the previous year.
The Ministry of Education also lowered entry grades from C to D+ in 2018 to benefit 17 marginalised counties.
